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Thursday, October 17, 2013

Barcelona Crew Bringing Bartaco to the Westside

Bartaco is coming to the Westside.

The Norwalk, Connecticut-based group behind Barcelona Wine Bar in Inman Park has finally found a location for their newest concept, bartaco. The group has been scouting locations for bartaco for over a year in different parts of Atlanta and has now secured a location in west midtown.

Bartaco, along with a handful of other new businesses, will be located on Marietta Street, where the vacant Dixie Packing Co. building sits today. According to a source on location, the building will retrofitted and transformed to allow for bartaco to have an outdoor patio and for additional parking.

Building permits and other construction and restaurant related permits have been filed with the city over the past few weeks, and while no one at bartaco will confirm this will be their new restaurant location, the writing is on the wall that it's a go at 969 Marietta Street.

Bartaco currently has four locations, three in Connecticut and one in New York.

"Inspired by the beach culture around the world, bartaco brings upscale street food with a coastal vibe in a relaxed and stylish environment."

"Served in small plates, the cuisine is rooted in the Mexican tradition but pulls from a broad palate of bold, spicy flavors from Asia, the Mediterranean and beyond."

Bartaco's beverage menu features "state of the art juicers that ensure freshly-squeezed juice in all of the unique cocktails, over 25 tequilas."

Bartaco's main menu features a number of tacos ranging in price from $2.50 to $7 with virtually nothing on the menu priced more than $10 for an individual serving.

Another great thing to note is that nearly the entire menu is gluten free. With gluten intolerance at record levels, more and more restaurants are offering gluten free options.

Scott Lawton, COO of Barteca Restaurants, is from Atlanta and formerly held management positions at Chops, The Atlanta Fish Market and McKendrick's.

Barcelona opened in Inman Park in late 2011 and has proven extremely popular. Lawton and his partners are hoping to replicate that success with bartaco.

The area around the Dixie building has seen plenty of redevelopment and restaurant openings lately, with many seeing the area as the next great stretch on the westside. After nearly two years, Yum Bunz opened in July at the 935 apartments, while Delia's Chicken Sausage Stand is finally under construction and looks primed for an opening in the first quarter of next year. Osteria del Figo will relocate from their current home at Huff & Howell Mill Roads to a building between Yum Bunz and Delia's, also likely opening early next year. 850F Pizza was slated to open in the shuttered Toscano & Sons space but its opening, and future for that matter, have turned a little mysterious. The restaurant posted in July that they would be open in 119 days, basically now. Today they list a new address, 12635 Crabapple Rd., Suite 310, Milton, GA, 30004 and claim they will open in 79 days.

Given the extensive work needed to transform the Dixie Building into a restaurant, I'd expect for bartaco to open by early spring of next year.

2 comments:

Drove by there recently and 850F Pizza had had signage up several months ago but all of it has been removed and the space remains an empty shell. But also to note the building next door to the Dixie Packing company is no longer a building but essentially a front facade. I'm wondering if this would be creating an outdoor patio-like space similar to the LaFonda several blocks up Howell Mill.

I had understood that the vacant building to the right of Dixie will be Bartaco. There will be outdoor space to the right where there is an empty lot and then the restaurant will take the building and part of the Dixie building. Concept should be really cool.